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Green technology costs will drop, McGuinty promises

Jonathan Jenkins, QMI Agency

Wednesday, August 10, 2011
1:55:09 EDT PM

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty dropped by Powerstream in Markham on Tuesday, August 9, 2011, to announce an $80 million fund to boost the number of electric vehicle recharging stations in Ontario. (Jonathan Jenkins/QMI Agency)

MARKHAM, Ont. - The high cost of green technology will inevitably come down, said Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty on Tuesday, as he unveiled an $80-million fund to boost the number of electric car recharging stations around the province.

"Think about the original price of a calculator, of a VCR, a DVD player, a flat-screen TV, or a cellphone," McGuinty said, standing in front of three electric cars.

"What happened to the price of our technologies over time? With innovation and imagination on the part of people, we found a way to bring those costs down. Whether we're talking about wind turbines, solar panels or electric cars, we know which way those costs are going."

The Liberal government's Green Energy Act - which pays heavily subsidized prices in a bid to kick-start wind, solar and biomass electrical generation - and its efforts with Samsung to build a renewable energy manufacturing industry in Ontario have been savaged by opposition parties as expensive experiments that will drive up everyone's monthly power bills.

But McGuinty insisted there are payoffs for consumers who take the plunge.

"Price is always an issue," he said. "But I also want families to take into account, $70 dollars for a gas fill-up, $7 for an electricity fill-up.

"I want them to take that into account, too, and multiply that over the number of years during which you own that car."

Ontario is also offering rebates of up to $8,500 for the purchase of a new electric vehicle, including Toyota's RAV4 EV, which is being built in Woodstock, Ont.

As for the $80-million fund encouraging recharging stations, McGuinty said it took years to develop the service stations, mechanics and roads that support gasoline cars.

"Here he is handing out $80 million to build more infrastructure, when he hasn't addressed the basic problems that people in Ontario know exist. The main one is the cost of electricity," Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman said.

"That's affecting our business life, that's affecting our personal life. That's the main topic of discussion at the family table and we're seeing it at doors across Ontario.

"The green energy ideas that are being espoused around the world are great ideas. The way they're being handled by Dalton McGuinty; bad ideas."

The PCs support renewable energy, but would revise the Green Energy Act to allow for competitive tenders for power projects.

Exiting contracts would be preserved except for the province's $7-billion deal with Samsung, which would be scrapped if the Tories win the Oct. 6 provincial election.